


The Paths We Tend To Follow

by ProjectFYERBIRD



Series: Broken Wings & Bent Feathers [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Aliens, Angst, Fancy title for a fucking xeno scenario series, I'm so sorry Blizzard for ruining this game, If you want to blame someone then blame itsthesinbin on tumblr for kinkenabling me, Lots of angst as well because fuck it lets make everything sad while I sin, Reader-Insert, This is literally just an excuse to write xeno guys, Wings, Xeno
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-18 14:00:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7318078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProjectFYERBIRD/pseuds/ProjectFYERBIRD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your planet was destroyed, leaving you with nowhere to go--nowhere to call home. You were lost and alone and afraid. With a bounty on your head, you flee to Earth, where they will hopefully not be able to find you until after you live out your lifespan. But then everything gets complicated when you fall in love. With an Earth inhabitant no less. It seems life isn't done with you yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Paths We Tend To Follow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You were used to going underground, but this was the deepest you had ever had to go. But Earth had changed from when you were last there, cities becoming a cesspool of illegal activities. Governments--restrained by technicalities--unable to help. So you took it upon yourself to ensure that Earth doesn't end up like pre-war Kyon. That was how you met him. Another vigilante cleaning up the streets. That was how fell in love with him. But you never counted on him discovering your secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The way that this will be written is each chapter will be a different character. This is part of a series, and each 'installment' will be a new chapter for each character. So the first chapter of the second 'installment' will be the second chapter to this. These are also unbeta'ed, and I don't really check them for mistakes, sorry. Feel free to let me know if I ever get the characterization of any characters wrong, I'm not sure if I have a good grasp on their personalities yet.

Going underground was nothing new to you. Taking different names, different appearances. It was all very routine now. You had gotten used to moving around, keeping a low profile, taking the jobs that nobody wanted. You always knew how to hide in plain sight, how to blend into a crowd, how to disappear and act invisible. Some would call it a gift, but you viewed it as a burden. You held the belief that no one should have to learn the skills you did.

But this was the furthest underground you had ever gone.

With the shockwaves of the destruction of your planet still rippling through intergalactic news, and the bounty now placed on your head, you knew you had to flee. And so you did, half way across the universe, to a backwater planet located in the far-off Milky Way galaxy. Earth, or Terra, as some called it. An out of the way planet, well off the beaten track. It was inhabited by a race of mammalian bipeds called humans. You looked enough like them to blend if you tried hard enough. It would be easy to lose your life signature in those that belonged to the seven billion plus other ones that resided on the planet.

* * *

A jagged shard of broken glass crunched beneath your boot as you staggered into the alley, an arm firmly wrapped around your abdomen. The other groped at the wall, uncaring of its dampness and grime. Every movement sent excruciating, aching throbs of pain shooting through your side. You guessed that one or more of your ribs were broken judging by how much pain you were in. 

You let out ragged breaths, chest heaving violently underneath the firm, toughened material of your suit. It hurt to _breathe_ , but you did, breathing deeply despite the agony it put you in. A voice, familiar and foreign at the same time, rang out in your head, " _Do not take shallow breaths if your ribs are cracked or broken, that increases your risk of a chest infection._ " 

Your legs--unwilling to hold your weight anymore--gave way and you collapsed on the cold ground, black spots dancing across your vision. You rolled onto your back, staring up at the night sky through your cracked visor. Towering and blocky buildings fashioned out of metal, concrete and glass surrounded you and the alleyway you were in, looming over you like trees in a concrete jungle. 

"I advise not to move, multiple contusions detected, as well as four broken ribs, and a bruised humerus in your left wing." Andromeda's voice rang through your comm. unit. You let out a weak, raspy groan, wincing from behind cracked glass, "Yeah, I detected those awhile ago."

Somewhere, sirens wailed their song as flashing red and blue lights raced to the scene of another horror. It was nothing new, a pattern of sound you had heard over and over again until you had memorized when pitch rose and fell. It was a rare occasion when you knew where they were heading. You preferred not to think about it. You didn't need anything else haunting you at night when you couldn't find it in yourself to sleep.

True to Andromeda's word of a bruised humerus in your left wing, it hurt as well, a sharp pain whenever it so much as twitched; you were certain that you wouldn't be flying anytime soon.

The sound of footsteps on the pavement alerted you to someone approaching your position. 

"Someone is approaching. They are armed." Andromeda reported one thing you already knew, and one thing you hadn't. 

You activated your holoshifter, a rather complicated piece of tech. It was hard to explain the science behind it, because not even you knew the entire process. You also weren't paying attention when it was being explained. It would take the matter of an object, in this case your wings, and shift it to a different dimension. They were still there of course, just intangible and invisible. Kind of like a pocket dimension. Back to the problem at hand, though.

It hurt. It hurt so, so much when you forced yourself to rise on your trembling legs, gritting your teeth through the pain. A hand white knuckled the side of a putrid smelling dumpster. You would probably lose this fight, but you weren't going to let yourself go down without one. You would only stop fighting when your cold, extinguished body hit the ground.  

A man rounded the corner, stopping just at the mouth. You just barely caught a glimpse of what he looked like--a facial mask with a red-orange visor; a red and blue and white jacket--and then the blackness overtook your vision, and you crumpled to the ground in an ungraceful heap. 

* * *

Your eyes slowly flickered open, gazing up at a dingy ceiling through blurred vision. You let out a cough, surprised when pain racked through your body. "Ow," you croaked. You looked down, startled upon seeing your abdomen wrapped up with white bandages. You weren't in your suit anymore, which made you uneasy. Instead, you found yourself in a pair of loose fitting sweat pants, and your breast band.  

"You're awake." 

You started upon hearing a low growl of a voice, eyes flicking up to see the same man you saw before blacking out. He still wore that visor, which kept his face hidden from view, his forehead the only thing visible. His ivory hair looked rather dishevelled, and water droplets still clung to it. He was wearing a baggy grey shirt, and a pair of sweatpants similar to the ones you wore now. He had probably just came from the shower.

"Are these your pants?" You always did ask the important questions in life. 

He ignored your question in favour of crossing the space between you and him in only a few strides. You gulped, not liking how this interaction was going so far. "Drink," he said, and you just then noticed the glass of water and small pills he was offering you. Although, offering was a bit of a stretch. Cautiously, you took the glass and pills from him, eyeing them suspiciously. But you were too thirsty and in too much pain to argue, and took a small sip, washing the pills down with it. When you finished the glass, you set it aside and looked up at him. You didn't think those pills were poison, after all, he wouldn't have gone through bandaging you up just to kill you, would he?

"Alright, I drank the water and took what I sincerely hope was painkillers. Thank you for that, by the way. Can I get your name so I don't have to keep calling you 'the man,'? I'll start us off, mine's Y/N."

He didn't answer right away, and you thought that you had went too far. Nice going, you just made things even more awkward. You coughed again, hissing through clenched teeth. Hopefully, those what you were assuming were painkillers would kick in soon. "Just call me Soldier 76," he rumbled after a period of awkward silence. "Okay! Is it okay with you if I just shorten that to 76? Soldier 76 is a bit of a mouthful." You didn't get an answer this time, and you watch as he turned his back to you. "Alrighty then," you muttered to yourself, "I guess I'll just take a nap."

When you woke again, the pain in your abdomen wasn't so pronounced, to your relief. Soldier 76 stood over you, his hand still on your shoulder from when he gently shook you awake. You blinked the sleep from your eyes, looking around the plain motel room before your eyes settled on him. For someone of his age, he really was handsome, even if he still had that freaking visor on. Wait, what? No, no, don't think like that. You're just a little woozy from your nap and the painkillers. 

He cleared his throat, jolting you out of your thoughts. "Are you going to stare all day, or do you want something to eat?" 

Your cheeks paled as silver rushed to them in a blush. "I haven't eaten in God knows how long, I'll take the food please," you said, trying to sound like you didn't just embarrass yourself.  

Dinner was a little awkward, with no conversation from either side, just the sound of cutlery against plates. When you both finished, it was clear that 76's intention was to go to sleep, and couldn't blame him, considering that you too were feeling a little sleepy. But when he started for the couch, you made a confused noise. "Are you seriously going to sleep on the couch?" You asked incredulously, both eyebrows raised. There was only one bed in the motel room, and you currently occupied it, but you sure as hell wouldn't take it from him, especially after he was kind enough to take you in.

"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?" You propped yourself up on your elbows, wincing at the pain. Those painkillers were wearing off. "Hell yeah I have a problem, I'll take the couch, you take the bed," your tone was almost scolding. "You're injured," he pointed out, "you should be the one to take the bed." He had a good point, but so did you. "Yeah, but on the bed I could roll over in my sleep and aggravate my wounds, on the couch I have a smaller chance of doing that." 

It was clear you won because he sighed, getting up and walking toward you. 76 helped you sit up, his movements careful for someone who put up an air of general roughness. It still hurt, but you ground your teeth through it, determined not to show it. He wrapped an arm around your waist and shoulders, letting you use his body as a crutch. The close proximity made you blush again, and you mentally told yourself off. You had just met the guy, and barely knew anything about him for God's sake!

You almost fell on the first step you took, but soon regained your balance. Slowly, you two walked to the couch, and he helped you settle down on to it. It wasn't the most comfortable thing to sleep on, but you had slept on worse than some couch. It was obvious that even the few feet from bed to couch had exhausted you, and you pulled the blanket over yourself. You bid him a soft goodnight before falling asleep, breathing evening out and becoming rhythmic. 

76 grumbled something about how stubborn you were before going to the bed and falling asleep himself. 

* * *

It continued on like this for a few days before the two of you fell into a comfortable routine. 76 would wake up before you and make breakfast--usually just scrambled eggs with bacon and toast--then head out for the day, coming back later at night. He'd leave you with painkillers and ice packs, all but ordering you not to move unless you had to. It was almost sweet how he worried. 

A few more weeks passed, and the two of you grew closer, developing what you hoped was a friendship. He started to talk more, and open up a little about his past. 76 had mentioned something about how he used to be a Commander in the military, but he seemed uncomfortable talking about it, so you didn't press. In return, you told him a bit of your past, omitting certain details pertaining to your extraterrestrial roots. But even with the friendship, you felt a little . . . unsatisfied, you guessed. Like you wanted more than that.

Eventually, you began noticing small things about Soldier 76, like how he liked his coffee (black), how he was a light sleeper, stuff that seemed trivial to you, but important at the same time. I believe the saying is, "Enjoy the little things." This was also when you noticed you were in love with the mysterious vigilante who seemed like a man after your heart, or stone in this case. You knew you couldn't fall in with him, it was too dangerous. Especially since you still had a generous amount of units going for your head. 

But then today happened, and everything changed. For better or for worse, you had no idea. 

You hissed as unwrapped the bandages around your torso, exposing a huge yellow-green bruise that spanned almost your entire side. It had gotten better from a few weeks earlier, but still looked ugly. "Ow,' you said, shifting so he could better remove the bandages. "You're getting better," he said, "you can almost walk with my help." 

He placed the old ones on the table, and grabbed some fresh ones. "This is going to hurt," he warned, just like he did the last time he changed your bandages, and the time before that. Even with the warning, you still yelped when he wrapped them around your torso, squeezing your eyes shut through the pain. _'I don't suppose you can kiss that better,_ ' you thought. Soldier 76's movements halted, and with no small amount of dread, you realized you had said that aloud. "Shit, sorry, I made things weird again, didn't I?" 

No answer. Somehow, you could feel his eyes on you, even through the red-orange visor he hadn't taken off in the entire span of time you'd been with him. "I'm sorry, I tend to blurt stuff out when I'm . . ." you trailed off, eyes shifting to your hands, which you nervously wrung in your lap. There was a click from in front of you, and your looked up again, eyes widening to the size of saucers at what you saw. 76 was taking off his visor. Your breathe hitched, and you stared as he set it on the table. 

Blue eyes stared into yours, and you noticed the two diagonal scars on his face. You reached forward, cupping his face. "So you  _do_ face under there, and a handsome one at that," you breathed. That was when you felt a pair of slightly chapped lips on yours. E/C closed after a second, savouring the moment before he pulled like he had been burned. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," he apologized, "I'm not as young as I used to be." It was funny that he was saying that to you, the being who was 11,815 Earth years old. 

Instead of using words, you pulled him into another kiss, this one lasting until he placed a hand on your side. You yelped, and he retreated again, looking a little bit sheepish. "76," you began, but he held up a hand. "Please, call me Jack." "Jack," you let it roll off your tongue, liking how it sounded. "Alright then, Jack it is."

"Well then, Jack, can you kiss me  _after_ you finish changing my bandages?" 

"That seems like an excellent idea."


End file.
